Learning SC2

Every week on my YouTube channel ZiggyDStarcraft I make a video called ‘Monday Musings‘, where I talk about a topic that is relevant to gaming and real life success. This week I shared my Starcraft 2 journey and the profound impact the game had on me. 

Monday Musings for 18th March 2012 – How Starcraft 2 Changed My Life

TL;DR: StarCraft 2 taught me how to go about being passionate about something, it offered a depth and challenge that I hadn’t before seen in gaming. I learned that gaming can offer a lot more than just leisure time and that if I focus my passion and energy into something I can really achieve my goals. Thanks to Starcraft 2 I am now doing what I love for a living and I feel that passion for something every day.

Want to see more Monday Musings from ZiggyD? Check out the full playlist here!

When I was first approached by some of the members of Team Legion to write an article about my thoughts on sexism, racism and homophobia in Starcraft 2 eSports I was nervous. Such a heavy topic can not possibly be fully explored or ‘solved’ in one book, let alone in one article. Still, I knew that it was something that I really wanted to do as it is important to the members of Team Legion, many of the people I know, the community as a whole, and myself. 

After some thought on how I wanted to go about this I decided that I didn’t want to tell people what was wrong or right, rather, I wanted to present to readers exactly what the issue is so that they could think it through for themselves. This article is my exploration into exactly what the problem is when it comes to racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of hate in the Starcraft 2 eSports scene. I hope it provokes some thought and discussion that leads towards improvement.

Alysa ‘AuRora’ Goose [LgN Gaming]

To begin with I’d like to introduce you to Alysa ‘AuRora’ Goose from Team Legion. I recently had the chance to chat with her about her experiences in the SC2 community. What she had to tell me, sadly, didn’t surprise me – her experiences are pretty typical from what I have seen for females in the Starcraft 2 scene and within gaming in general. 

“I can personally say I’ve had to deal with a lot of mean spirited people on the NA bnet server for sure … whether it just be the random player who acts BM or people who are just very hateful..  I try to tune it out ETC and just say gl hf or GG regardless of what people say to me.. but yeah its definitely an issue and hard to ignore.”

I considered blacking out the name of the person in this instance but I decided against it. There is this assumption that what you do on the ladders is not in the public eye – this assumption is wrong. When you ladder actual people are there to see the way you act. It’s foolish to assume that the things you do in public will stay private. Before saying or doing anything on the ladder consider this: would you do the same thing at a LAN event?

“but we have a pretty good community overall in my opinion .. so I dont think its a rampant problem.. but hard to ignore”

I think Alysa has a great point, the Starcraft 2 community is friendly, kind and accepting overall – in comparison to the gaming community as a whole. But I think this highlights it’s own problem; a certain level of hate and harrassment is considered normal when it comes to gaming. This level is way beyond what would be considered normal in the outside world. This normality of hate makes people on the receiving end feel like it’s just a part of gaming and that it is up to them to defend themselves, ignore it or stop playing.

What About the ‘Bad Guys’ of eSports? The Entertainers? 

CombatEX, Destiny and Idra (and many others) are the different shades of the ‘bad guys’ in eSports. Their behaviour isn’t wrong on it’s own, eSports needs to have it’s bad guys just like WWE (entertainment wrestling) needs it’s bad guys. I actually watch all three of the afforementioned players streams and I even find them entertaining for the most part. But these players, like many others, have been known to cross the line from entertainment into hate. But they are only partly to blame for this behaviour. 

“I had the chance to play him once.. of course he BM’ed me at the end of the game.. but I think thats just part of his internet ‘persona’.”

 – Alysa ‘AuRora’ Goose on CombatEX

BM style entertainment is something the community wants but I don’t think people actually want to see racism, homophobia and sexism when they watch Starcraft 2 – they just tolerate it. This is the problem as it creates a culture of acceptance, it normalises the behaviour. No-one complains and the streamers doing it think it’s not a problem – they may even think that it’s a part of the attraction of their stream. Since it makes them money they keep on with it. In the end the viewers accept the behaviour because the most successful people within Starcraft are not just getting away with it, they are successful from it. 

Orb actually said himself on State of the Game that he didn’t really confront his behaviour until he was called out on it. He just felt like he could “get away with it”. For those of you who have not been following along, Orb was called out for racist language on his stream and on the ladders. The community responded quite quickly contacting Evil Geniuses’ sponsors and Orb was removed from the team.

On that note the Orb situation has wrapped up nicely, a punishment comparable to any other entertainment industry was levelled, the player has apologized and made a statement about his behaviour being wrong and the community has been made aware that in the future this sort of behaviour is not acceptable. The entire spectacle has resulted in progress within the community and many other figures are likely to take notice of how events played out and modify their own behaviour. Hopefully, this all has lasting implications for the improvement of the Starcraft 2 eSports community.

What Can You Do? 

Community Leaders: The Agents of Change 

Just like Orb the community leaders need to be held accountable for their actions. This requires a good deal of self-control in some cases. Starcraft 2 is a frustrating game and people won’t blame you for getting angry, but you do have to draw your own line as to what is acceptable behaviour whilst in the public eye. This may mean keeping a piece of paper next to your computer with a reminder that says: “I influence what people think” or “I am not anonymous”. 

The Viewers: The Force for Change

If the recent events with Orb have show anything it’s that the viewers and general community can be the strongest force for change. If you don’t like something let your voice be heard.

You can call people out for using racist/sexist/homophobic jokes or language on their streams. If they ignore you or ban you simply turn off the stream. One or two people doing this will go unnoticed but if a streamer loses a couple hundred viewers and the chat box is filled with complaints about the language every time they do this, then they will take notice.  

If you’re about to turn a stream off for something you don’t like take a second to leave a complaint before you do. Something like “I’m turning this stream off, BM is fine but calling someone ‘x’ is not. I recommend to anyone else who isn’t okay with this to do the same.” 

A comment in the Orb thread on Teamliquid.net

Changing Our Culture

Changing the culture as a whole is a big ask, especially when it’s so easy and profitable to to rely on the practices of the past. But the only way to grow beyond the stereotype of sexist, racist, hate-filled gamers is to rethink the practices of the past. Many different cultures have had to question whether what they considered normal was actually right. It’s time for us to do the same.

A Special Thanks to:

Stijn ‘Doji‘ Dejongh for approaching me with the idea for this article.

Alysa ‘AuRora‘ Goose for allowing me to interview her and for the image.

Amelia ‘Gilbertamie‘ Gilbert for putting up with me stressing about this article for days, for helping me with another perspective, and for being a great editor.

And, Team Legion.

If you have found this article to be thought-provoking please consider leaving a comment below! Sharing this article on Twitter and Reddit also helps a ton.

The people who record history are almost as important as the people that create it. EG writer and ex-SC2 n00b Robert  ‘KingOctavious‘ Ring has done something huge for StarCraft 2 esports, he has created SC2’s first hard record of our history.

The Year in StarCraft 2: 2011 looks just like something you would get a hardcore football fan for their birthday. It’s absolutely packed full of stats, player biographies, tournament results, and history for the year of 2011. Stat nerds especially should pick this book up, the stat-filled appendix contains every detail you could ask for.

The most exciting thing about the release of Robert’s book is that it is a sign of the future. This is a great step forward for StarCraft 2 esports, having a hard piece of history that we can look back on in 10 or 20 years time is awesome. Who knows? People may even use this book (and future copies) in the future to study the history of esports.

The glowing review by SirScoots and the positivity that was showcased on Live on Three absolutely floored me. The top people of StarCraft 2 basically said that every caster should have a copy as their homework. Hearing Robert talk about his own work was also really inspiring.

Read more »

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kenny ‘aLtShortizz‘ Ang, GrandMaster Zerg on SEA (Rank 87 at the time of writing) and I am very excited to present this to you.

What makes aLtShortizz’s story so exciting is that he went from Bronze to GrandMasters in a short seven months! This sort of progress is inspirational to many of us who are struggling in Bronze or even somewhere in the middle and just goes to show that players aren’t born in GM.

Hello Shortizz and thank you for allowing me to interview. First lets just have you introduce yourself!

Hi everyone, my name is Kenny Ang and I play under the nickname aLtShortizz. I am currently a GM on SEA server and Master on NA and KR servers.

You have created a bit of a stir in the SEA community for your inspiring progress on the ladders, care to share your achievement with us?

I was placed in Bronze league back in February and got promoted into GM league in August. It was something like Season 1 – Gold, Season 2 – Rank 1 Master, Season 3 – GM. Winning the Sc2SEA community open twice was also very rewarding and I got recognition through that and was eventually invited to join top Singapore clan aLt.

What made you decide to play Zerg, and, have you ever had a moment where you wanted to change races?

I played Zerg in Broodwar and naturally chose Zerg again in SC2. The Zerg mechanics were harder to grasp for me in the beginning (I tried the other races too), but I felt that with better understanding and control of the mechanics, especially the queen, Zerg has a lot of potential.

There were many times where I was frustrated and often thought that I was losing to lesser players, thus leading me to contemplate a race switch. I believe everyone went through phases like that but in order to improve, you need to stop thinking that your losing to lesser players and focus more on why you are losing in the first place. For example, I dont blame Terran OP for winning with a 11/11 bunker rush (Although I think its cheap). I prefer to take the loss as me not defending the bunker rush well enough despite knowing how to.

 “I believe in order to improve, you need to stop thinking that your losing to lesser players and focus more on why you are losing in the first place.”

What inspired you to try to get really good at StarCraft 2?

As I have stated in my Strategy guide [on SC2SEA.com], in order to improve quickly and massively, you have to devote alot of time and effort into it. After playing BW for 5 years, I was shocked and humiliated to be place into Bronze league when I did my placements. I guess that was actually a good start looking back at it now as it stirs up the competitiveness in me.

How does it feel to have progressed the way that you have? Are you happy to rest on your laurels now, or do you have a ‘next step’ planned?

I intend to at least maintain my current standard while practising a lot more with my teammates. Balancing life and gaming is very important and when a choice has to be made, everyone should put gaming aside. If you get too overwhelmed in trying to improve and play, it will consume you and thats never a good thing.

On that note, how have you balanced normal life and SC2, and, has anyone from ‘real  life’ been supportive or disagreed with what you were doing?

My GF bought me my copy of SC2 because she knew how much I had loved BW. I was hesitant to purchase it because I knew exactly how much it might consume me =P. I wouldn’t say alot of people are supportive of my practise because gaming is not really a hobby that most would look up to.

Hopefully that will change in the future!

How does a typical day of practice go for you?

When I was practising to get into GM league (always aim high) I would do 5-10 Games of custom games, watch replays of games that I lost and didn’t understand why then Ladder 5-10 games. So thats pretty much 10-20 games a day, not counting the hours I spent researching timings and build orders.

After getting into GM, I play mostly on average of 5 games just to keep myself  ‘updated’. A lot of people think that you have to consistently play a lot to reach and maintain a high level but really, all you need is a period where u have time to make a good push and then you can sit back on it and just maintain your standard.

StarCraft 2 seems to be a game that becomes deeper the more you look. What would you say has changed about the way you see StarCraft 2 since Bronze?

Being in BSG (Bronze/Silver/Gold) was actually a lot more fun compared to nowadays. There were so many players whom you can compete with and everyone does really fun and weird stuff that cracks you up! However, once you attain a certain ranking and you’ll realise that the people you are playing are usually the same. Its either a TA, nGen, aLt or SPR that you would be laddering against these days (on SEA). And quite honestly, its getting a little too boring especially when some people do the same opening almost every game.

Game play wise, being in Bronze gives you a lot of room for improvement and the satisfaction that comes with it. The satisfaction comes mostly from winning tournaments since there are very little people that you actually surpass.

What have been the most important factors in your progress?

The satisfaction of improving and beating people whom are considered the best. Also, I would like to say that being part of a community helps too. When I was hanging out with PRACBUD and ClanFaDe, they would constantly cheer me on because they want to see a GM amongst themselves. I guess that made me more proud when I achieved what me and my friends wanted.

Do you have any final tips for the Bronzies out struggling to get promoted?

Playing 1000 games everyday will get you nowhere if you do not realise your mistakes. Sometimes, listening is actually more important that playing. Search around for some useful tips and guides and try to define your ‘play-style’ from there. I strongly suggest everyone to sign up for tournaments that are listed in Sc2SEA.com. Dont just play in BSGs, join the Open tournaments too so you can have a chance to play against high level players. The only way to improve is to constantly play against better players and the look at your mistakes after you lose.

Lastly, dont be disheartened and always remember this is a game that we bought to relax ourselves. If losing too much gets to you, just walk away and come back later.

Sound advice! Thanks again for your time.

Do you have a story of triumph to tell? Let us know about it in the comments below or send us an email!

It can be hard to play and enjoy StarCraft 2 when your partner does not understand or like it.  If you’re reading this then StarCraft 2 is likely more than just a game to you, it is a hobby that you put a lot of effort into, get a lot out of, and, make friends whilst doing. Not being able to share something that is so important with the people you are close to won’t only affect your enjoyment of the game but it will also strain relationships.

The good news is that it is nearly always possible to transform your significant other into a StarCraft lover, or, at the very least have them understand and respect your love of the game. Helping @Gilbertamie to understand my love of Starcraft 2 (she recently bought her own account!) and helping a few friends with their own struggles has given me a few ideas on the best ways to approach this challenge. Unsurprisingly, a lot of what I will discuss focuses around the key theme of honesty. Being honest about what you love is the best way to win someone over, so let’s kick things off with that idea.

A cheeky yet sweet Starcraftt 2-themed letter sent to me by @Gilbertamie. Click to enlarge.

Be Honest

Being honest is the first and most important step when trying to get your partner into StarCraft 2. Partners often want to know what their other half is interested in and unless your honest about your love affair with this game then they will not make an effort to appreciate it.

If you are hiding the fact that you love StarCraft 2 then take some time to think about why. Are you afraid that they will consider it nerdy? Does it seem like they wouldn’t be interested? Gaming can’t really be a hobby can it?

Gaming is becoming more mainstream as a hobby with ‘casual’ games converting traditionally non-gamers into people that play fairly frequently. In addition to this the more ‘serious’ world of gaming has had a change where instead of female gamers being considered nerdy they are considered cool. These trends alongside the growth of eSports mean that gaming is becoming a more serious part of peoples lives and not just a past-time of the nerdy.

It is the perfect time to be honest about your love affair with Starcraft 2, take the leap and get your partner, friends and family into it too!

Commentate Your Own Replays

Showing that you are willing to embarrass yourself to share one of your games with your partner can be a big help. Pick a fun game that you played and cast it. It could be a win or a loss (I prefer losses for entertainment value but this is up to you) and run through it explaining what you were thinking, what you thought your opponent was doing and how this was good/bad for you.

Remember to keep it entertaining, say what was fun, what you did well and what you did badly. In trying to win over @gilbertamie I cast a number of games to her:

“It was good to see what level you (ZiggyD) were at and it was funny to hear you putting on your casting voice, 

“I also liked being able to ask you questions as the game played out and having you explain why you chose certain units was interesting.” @gilbertamie said. 

Having your partner get involved like this is a great step forward, it takes the game from something you do by yourself to something you can share together. There is also something very honest about casting a game for someone one-on-one so let your enthusiasm show through.

Explain the Major Personalities in the SC2 Community

There are a lot of interesting personalities in the professional Starcraft 2 scene and sharing this aspect with your partner gives them someone to cheer for or someone to hate. Tell them a bit about the people playing in current tournaments, their personalities and their distinctive play-styles. 

Once your partner knows the personalities behind the game it will become easier and more fun to watch games and tournaments with them.

Talk About the Community

 Even taking away the major personalities the Starcraft 2 community is very impressive. Thousands of people attend tournaments all year round and thousands more tune in to live streams to support their favourite players. The Starcraft 2 community is also one of the friendliest communities I have been apart of. Make sure to show this side of the game to your partner, seeing so many great people connect over this common interest is very convincing,

Watch Shoutcasted Games Together

When beginning to watch professional games with your partner it is important to choose well casted ones. There are typically two types of casters: the highly analytical and the shoutcasters. The highly analytical casters are generally more interesting to experienced players who are looking to pick up on the nuances of the games. Shoutcasters on the other hand focus on excitement and entertainment with a fast paced play-by-play casting style.

When introducing your partner to the game choose shoutcasters or other beginner friendly casters. Some suggestions of beginner-friendly casters are:

• Day[9]: Halfway between shoutcasting and the highly analytical style, Day[9] is very beginner friendly explaining strategy and tactics in less exciting moments of games and switching to a shoutcasting style in moments of action. You can find casts by Day[9] at his website Day9.tv or by watching any recent MLG or Dreamhack VODs.
• TotalBiscuit: Considered to be the pioneer of the shoutcasting style. If you’re looking for action packed casting TotalBiscuit should be your first stop. You can find casts by TotalBiscuit on his YouTube channel. 
• Tasteless and Artosis: The GSL casting duo are a happy medium between the two casting styles and are extremely entertaining. You can watch casts by Tastless and Artosis by tuning into the GSL or MLG tournaments.

Play the Game Together

Actually sitting down and playing some games with your partner is a great way to get them a bit more involved in the game. When @Gilbertamie said to me “Teach me how to play Starcraft” I knew I was on the right track.

Have your partner play a game vs the Easy AI while you help them out with the basics. Get them using some hotkeys and building some fun units. Alternatively, you could run through some campaign missions witth them if you think that would be better suited.

The Secret Weapon: Day[9] Daily #100

If you think you’re starting to win your partner over then it’s time to bring out the secret weapon, the coup de grace, Day[9] Daily #100 – My Life of Starcraft. In this two hour special Day[9] will make you laugh and cry and be proud to do so.

Set aside an evening, get some good food and drink and settle down with your partner to hear Day[9] pour his heart out on his stream. If, after watching this, your partner does not at least have a respect for what Starcraft 2 means to its players then they have a heart of ice! 

After this it’s also worth watching Day[9]’s Funday Mondays with them, or, watching them yourself with the volume turned up loud so they can hear. Laughter is very attractive. 

Buy Them A Copy

This final step may seem risky as you will be spending $50 – $80 on a game that they may not even play, but if they have even a slight interest it is your duty as a Starcraft 2 player to nurture that interest. So buy them a copy and tell them that they don’t have to play it, that you’re not expecting anything. If they do want to play it let them know that you will be more than happy to teach them or play co-op games with them.

Good Luck!

Good luck with bringing your partner into the world of Starcraft 2. The more people we can win over the better this game will become and the more the community will grow and thrive. Remember that although the above advice has worked well for me and others it’s up to you to best determine what will help your partner understand your passion. Above all else be honest and be open about what you love and you will win their respect.

@Gilbertamie is new to Starcraft 2 and is writing about her own learning experiences on her blog AmeliaGilbert.Wordpress.com. Be sure to check it out, leave a comment and follow her on Twitter! 

Addition:  Gilbertamie wrote a tie-in post to this one telling her side of the story. It’s a great read and very revealing! Make sure to check it out at her blog.

Does your partner play Starcraft 2 or are you yet to win them over? Tell us your experiences in the comments section below! 

Recently Simon ‘Mak’ Murrell interviewed me for a character profile, we talked about Starcraft 2, eSports and the future of the two. I wanted to post his write up to give you the chance to have bit more insight into my involvement and motivations in the world of SC2 and eSports. Please read on for Simon’s piece.

MORE THAN JUST CHILDS PLAY

In 2000 the Electronic Sports world or E-Sports as its known, held the first World Cyber Games in Soul, Korea.

The Asia-Pacific region has seen massive growth in this industry, with prize pools in the tens of thousands of dollars, however the rest of world has developed a lot slower.

One man striving to change this is Daniel ‘ZiggyD’ Coutts-Smith, his involvement in the E-Sports world has exploded over the last year.

Daniel has designed, developed and funded his own website dedicated to teaching people the basics of competition gaming and to promote the sport, “I’m hoping to become a bit of an E-Sports entrepreneur” he said.

He is out to get more people playing E-Sport games, spread the word that gaming is not a childish pursuit and promote E-Sports as a spectator form of entertainment.

“I’m excited for the future of E-Sports in the west, I think it’s going to be huge and I’m excited to be a part of it”

In the future he hopes to sponsor tournaments and even learn Korean to help break through the eastern and western language barrier.

Though he confessed he’s no match for the professionals, he is still an avid gamer, playing at least two practice matches each day and competing on a regular basis.

Daniel played a variety of games growing up, though having no internet access limited his exposure to the E-Sports world.

He always preferred more challenging games, and strategy games such as StarCraft have become his main interest. With the release of StarCraft 2 (July last year) he focused his involvement in the sport.

When I asked him what made StarCraft such a popular game, he said “balance”, the game forces people’s skill to be the deciding factor and not a particular aspect of the game that gives one player an advantage”.

Like a giant chess game? “Indeed”.

He does stress that E-Sports aren’t just about entertainment, “gaming can provide a lot of developmental benefits” he said.

“Professional gaming requires a great deal of skill and the ability to be strategically decisive.”

He referred to Sun Tzu and The Five Rings as avenues of study for skill development.

Daniel emphasised the spectator aspect of gaming as well. “It isn’t just a participant sport either, it is a great spectator sport as well. This is one aspect that I want to promote.”

There is no doubt that Daniel is dedicated to the E-Sports world and his involvement is certainly going to make a difference to the development of the sport.

By Simon ‘Mak’ Murrell

If you are interested in writing a guest post for LSC2 contact me and let me know!

Chances are that if your’e reading this you spend as much or more time watching Starcraft 2 than you do playing it. The game has been designed with the intention that it would grow to become a spectator sport so it’s no wonder that it’s so great to watch. The future of Starcraft 2 and eSports in general is looking pretty bright, and I think that if everyone becomes just a little more active, we could see Starcraft 2 become as well known as any other major sport.

A lot of you are probably pretty excited for a future where we see major Starcraft 2 events on TV, but it’s not going to happen unless we make it. If you’re keen to get involved and make eSports happen read on and find out what you can do.

Support, Subscribe and Share

YouTube and other similar video services collect statistics on the amount of views, ‘likes’, and subscriptions that particular channels or videos receive. Investors and sponsors look at these statistics when deciding whether or not they are interested in becoming involved in the industry. A lot of interest in a particular market means a higher potential return on their investments. Advertising can be annoying but the money it generates for the industry is what fuels the growth we want. So if you see a YouTube channel you like; subscribe to it, ‘like’ their videos and share them with your friends.

Discuss the Game

I highly recommend that you get involved in the discussion in one or more of the great communities that exist. Forums like TeamLiquid.net are a great place to discuss every aspect of the game and to find out about events, new casts and a heap of other Starcraft goodness. Just remember that a mature, professional community will help give Starcraft 2 and eSports a good image.

Watch the Livestreams AND the Ads

Many top level players stream their laddering or practice sessions to the community, these streams are both an excellent resource and a great way to kick back and relax. Support these players by watching their streams, participating in the chat and, most importantly, disabling your adblocker. Watching 20-30 second ads every now and then may seem annoying but in most cases this is one of the main income streams for a lot of top-level players. The less people that watch their ads the less time they will have to dedicate to Starcraft. If we want Starcraft 2 to become a serious eSport then we need to make sure that our top players can at least make a living from it.

If you follow me on Twitter I will tweet links to whatever stream I am currently watching, otherwise you can find out who is streaming at TeamLiquid.

Participate in Tournaments

There are nearly always entry-level tournaments happening at any given time. Sign up for one and have a go, they are free and a lot don’t offer prizes but they are a lot of fun. I have played in the SEA BSG (bronze, silver, gold) weekly tournament before and I plan on doing so again in the future because it was a ton of fun. But even if you don’t want to play in the tournament you can always help organise, spread the word or just watch the games. A lot of new casters start their careers in small tournaments so help them out by watching their casts.

Watch the Major Events

What’s more exciting than watching the best of the best duke it out in a major competition? Doing it whilst knowing that your helping eSports grow in the process, that’s what!

Websites like GOMtv.net broadcast major Starcraft 2 events from around the world and usually offer both a free viewing option and a paid premium service. If you can afford the premium service go for it, remember we are trying to help something that we love grow. But if you’re on a tight budget like me then just watching the free streams will still help raise more revenue for these events.

TSL starts at 2pm ET on Saturday the 19th of March, make sure you check it it out! You can find out about other upcoming events on the Team Liquid Calendar page.

Directly Contribute

If you have technical or artistic skills and some spare time, then why not contribute directly? A good place to start would be the Team Liquid Forums, there are often people asking for help on particular eSports projects like this one. If you are lacking in the skills or time departments but have some spare cash floating around why not sponsor a small tournament instead? Just having a $50 prize pool on a weekend tournament can make things a lot more interesting. Alternatively you could donate to someone who you think is working hard for eSports, often these people rely on donations and other small income streams to keep on doing what they are doing.

Tell Your Friends and Family

This one can be hard because of the feeling that gaming is something that should not be taken seriously. Unfortunately a lot of people do feel this way and the only way we can change that is by telling them about what we love with pride and conviction. If we treat gaming seriously then at worse people will be forced to respect the love that we have for the game, and who knows maybe your family/friends will actually be quite supportive. I have been surprised at how many people have been really supportive of my interest in SC2 and eSports. Of course there has been people who just don’t get it, you just learn to move on.

If you are not feeling confident in your SC2/eSports pride then watch Day[9] Daily #100 “My Life of Starcraft” and listen to his story, I found it quite inspiring. (Warning: Be prepared to laugh, cry and maybe even fall in love.)

What do you foresee as the future of SC2 and eSports? Let me know in the comments below. You can further help by sharing this post with your friends!